


Get It Together

by HazelGatoya



Series: Between the Devil and the Digital Sea [3]
Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Being Homura Is Suffering, Gen, Homura's world is fascinating, Kyubey is overwhelmed, Madoka is doing her best, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nagisa and Mami exist, Post-Canon, Sayaka has her crap together, So is Homura, So many familiars, They just don't come up in person, post-rebellion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-23 03:23:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23004976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelGatoya/pseuds/HazelGatoya
Summary: The world spins around Madoka Kaname, but today it stalls, glitches and stutters. Not quite halting, but it's obvious that the system is struggling.Might have something to do with how tired one Homura Akemi is today.
Series: Between the Devil and the Digital Sea [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659613
Comments: 19
Kudos: 60





	Get It Together

**Author's Note:**

> The being that is Homura Akemi and her wacky rewrite of the world just decided to up and attack me so I must write fanfiction. I blame all of the arguments in the comment sections of PMMM YouTube videos for this. I really need to stop reading those. XD
> 
> In any case, I hope you enjoy the fic!

Sayaka _felt_ it before she saw it happen. The world itself shifted, becoming more solid, grounded. No one else seemed to notice the heaviness leave the air except for the small familiar that always seemed to be in class. It's body became more solid, a pale seven-year-old girl in a jet black dress and poncho, equally black braids, and a black hat with white pom-poms. It immediately looked down at itself with wide blue eyes, squeaking a soft "uh-oh," before looking at Sayaka.

Sayaka was pretty sure that even in this wacky nonsensical reality that children were not allowed in the older grade rooms. She didn't remember most of... _before_... so that rule was probably an actual thing. She gestured the girl over, and it scrambled, hopping into her lap and sinking down so it could easily hide behind the desk should the teacher look. The other students- including Kyoko- were focused enough on the _rant_ their teacher was giving that they weren't even looking, thank goodness. With the familiar in her lap, she actually turned around towards the back of the class where she knew the source of what had just happened would probably be, her eyes widening at the sight back there.

Homura was always in class when Madoka was, even though she didn't participate in the lesson or try to talk to anyone at all. Her mind always seemed a million miles away- just as it always had to Sayaka. She always sat in the same position, staring blankly either at the blackboard or Madoka. She never got called on, of course, and Madoka never attempted conversation even though she noticed Homura staring when the teacher didn't. 

Madoka was the one staring today. Homura was in no position to with her face buried in her arms and bangs, her hand resting on top of her head instead of holding her chin, her long black hair not hiding the fact that her shoulders were slowly rising up and down.

_"Y'know, I feel like I should be bothered by Homura for some reason,_ _" Kyoko had muttered a couple days back. "But on the other hand, the girl looks like she hasn't slept in ten years. So I just... dunno."_

Maybe Kyoko had been onto something, because Homura looked like she had totally clocked out and as a result the air was easier to breathe. Sayaka took a breath, and glanced back to Madoka, whose pink gaze met hers, less confused and distant and more serious. There. Grounded. Like Sayaka _felt._

The familiar squirmed a bit in her lap, and she knew that paying attention to the lesson would be a useless effort. She still wasn't certain whether or not she had to, there was still a part of her that knew things that Mami and Kyoko obviously didn't.

_Thousands of screams, a beautiful symphony underwater, Kyosuke conducting the orchestra for her with his silver eyes blank and a permanent smile fixed to his face in the shadows of the train station, she was drowning, drowning, DROWNING-_

Kyubey had told her two lifetimes ago that this body was nothing but a shell and she still had her soul gem in this new, wacky version of everything. Mami and Kyoko still had their's too, she'd found out over the course of the week. Mami had been delighted when she'd caught sight of Sayaka playing with hers and had asked if she knew where she'd gotten it, since apparently her little sister Nagisa had one too. Kyoko had muttered that maybe they had some sort of connection. Madoka had shown her a pink little gem that meant that she had made a contract at some point, but it was dull, quiet. She _knew_ Homura had hers, she could still see it in her earring every time she was in sight, and there was a strange... purple diamond tattoo that unsettled Sayaka every time she saw it.

Homura's breathing hitched, the air around her shimmered as she stirred and Madoka reached out to gently stroke her back. The world went back to "normal" once again, but Madoka kept her hand on Homura's back, looking up to meet Sayaka's gaze again, and then give a small smile. Sayaka gave a small nod, eyeing Homura one more time before turning back to the blackboard and putting a hand on the familiar's head. It squirmed a couple more times throughout the lecture that Sayaka really wasn't listening to, but it was in the form of a child. It's distraction and wiggling made sense even though it was staying quiet.

"And that's all for today," the teacher said, and Sayaka released a soft breath. Fifteen minutes of strange quiet. "The homework is-"

"Homura-chan, you silly goose," Madoka murmured, and the air suddenly grew heavier, the familiar growing a lot lighter as it became less human, more drawing. Sayaka turned to see Homura dragging herself back into a sitting position, a dazed expression on her face, Madoka's hand still on her back. "You should have said something if you weren't feeling well."

"Feeling well...?" Homura repeated, confusion entering her dark blue eyes as she stared at Madoka. 

Madoka gave her another smile. "Can I borrow you this afternoon? You've seen my favorite places, maybe we could go to one of yours."

The world seemed to light up when Homura smiled this time. "Oh yes," she replied brightly, clasping Madoka's hands with her own. "Yes, I would like that. There's a cliff where we can see the whole city, we can go there now."

"You've got a friend there, Sayaka."

Sayaka blinked, turning to see Kyoko staring at the familiar in her lap, and gave a small grin. "Guess it decided to sit on someone during the lesson today."

"It _is_ usually just hanging around, isn't it?" Kyoko reached out to tap the familiar's face, and it giggled. "You have plans today?" Sayaka glanced back at where Madoka and Homura had been, pressing her lips together when she saw that they were gone. Kyoko followed her gaze. "...Madoka don't usually leave that quickly."

"No, but she got Homura's attention, so they're going somewhere." Sayaka waved a hand. "Madoka's a big girl and I'm pretty sure Homura actually likes her, so..."

"Madoka is the only person she ever speaks to, you mean," Kyoko snorted. "You wanna go look for 'em, or do you have plans with good old Trouble in Paradise?"

Sayaka winced. "Don't call them that, please." It was accurate for Hitomi and Kyosuke right now, but still. "No, they're a little snappy and need space, so I don't have plans." She stood, setting the familiar down, but it held to her skirt, blinking up at her and grinning. "Cheeky little thing." She detached it from her skirt, holding onto it's cold, gloved hand instead, and began walking.

"What're these guys called again?" Kyoko asked, her hands behind her head as she followed, frowning at it. "I keep seeing 'em around, but I wasn't paying attention whenever the teacher named them."

"Did she give them a name?" Sayaka blinked. "I must not have been in school that day."

"Whaaaat? You, slacking on schoolwork?" Kyoko arched an eyebrow, lowering her hands to her hips. "There was something once, I think, about it all. I just remember names, mostly, but the clumsy, odd-looking crow-peacock birds are called liese."

"Liese," the familiar chimed in, the sound of her words several young voices overlapping on each other, startling both of them. "I am Ganko, a Clara Doll. We like the liese."

"Jeez, kid, I didn't know you could talk!" Kyoko exclaimed. 

"Not much." The doll stuck its tongue out at her, then lifted its chin. "We each have our part on this stage. Here, I tell you mine."

"Ganko," Sayaka repeated, committing the name going with this hat and braids to memory, and the doll turned back to her. "Do you know where Madoka and Homura are?"

Ganko grinned. "The cliff. Yes." She tugged Sayaka forward, and they headed down the stairs, towards the school's front entrance.

"Glad one of us knows what's going on," Kyoko muttered, reaching into her bag and pulling out her soul gem to fiddle with it. "Learning all sorts of stuff today. Life's been weird ever since Madoka transferred."

"What's weird about it that wasn't before?"

Kyoko frowned, her hand clenching around her soul gem, and the question died in the air. That part of Sayaka that screamed that this was all wrong and strange stirred again, and Ganko gave another soft giggle, but Sayaka knew that nothing good would come of screaming at the world. She vaguely remembered doing it once. She remembered how much it had hurt, how many people she had hurt. She'd learned her lesson.

_She remembered Homura screaming, faintly. Homura had been screaming for minutes and hours and days and **years,** for all the time that Sayaka had known her. She likely still hadn't stopped. She had always been good at hiding it._

"Look, Sayaka, I... I don't think I'm feeling up to dealing with Miss Mystery today." Kyoko stopped on the pathway out of the school, something pained in her expression. "Things in my head feel really whack today and she tends to make 'em worse somehow."

"Oh, I totally understand." Sayaka paused as well, gently pulling Ganko to a halt. "Homura's a bit... much." That was putting it lightly. Ganko giggled again, seeming to sense the understatement. "You could go make sure that Nagisa doesn't die from eating too much cheese."

"Ain't that Mami's job? She shouldn't buy Nagisa so much cheese," Kyoko huffed, but a fond smile had replaced the pained expression. "You don't want to come? Mami's more your friend than mine."

"Which should change, she _likes_ you." Sayaka reached out to grab Kyoko's nose, and the redhead ducked away with a cackle. "I might drop by later, but I do want to make sure our new friend isn't overwhelmed."

_New friend I have known for a week but also an eternity._

"Eh, fine, fine. I'll see you later then." Kyoko's grin remained as she gave a short wave and headed in the opposite direction. 

Ganko tugged Sayaka forward, and they began walking again, the world beginning to blur a bit around them. They were still walking, but Sayaka could see that they were moving faster than anyone else... Homura had always had a way with managing her time, if she recalled correctly, so she was less surprised than she perhaps should be. "You know more than you should," the familiar remarked. 

"And yet less than I'd like," Sayaka finished quietly. "I think it's because your mistress and I are both stubborn fools."

"Mistress Good-for-Nothing is certainly that." Sayaka started slightly at the title and the familiar giggled again. "All witches loathe themselves. Did you not as well?"

_Her unworthiness would make the world drown in a sea of grief._

"We were supposed to be saved from this fate." Another certainty, and while _she_ had been...

"This abyss of the mortal world is our stage." Ganko's voice was Homura's in that moment, soft but also firm and unyielding, cold as steel. "We will never ascend to the sky."

Yes. Yes, she remembered now. 

_The Goddess's hands were caught by the mortal she was trying to save, the mortal they had all been trying to save, the mortal who had screamed herself hoarse within the confines of her mind and wept and fought and fought and **fought** to deny herself salvation. And now, she held the Goddess, still fighting even though she was tired, and tore a piece from her, taking her into her arms as the world exploded, imploded, and then was rebuilt._

The transformation was quick, sharp, seamless, much like all of Homura's had been back even before Madoka had rewritten the world and then Homura had rewritten it again. Sayaka's white cape flowed behind her, her swords sheathed at her sides as they stepped onto a pathway lined with green, more Clara Dolls running around them. "White mouse, white mouse," they were chanting, their focus on a curled up creature, its fur mussed.

Homura had never been on good terms with Kyubey despite the fact that she had to have made a contract with him at some point.

"Guys," Sayaka murmured, and the Dolls stopped their chanting and running, looking up at her with cocked heads. Kyubey lifted his ears, looking up at Sayaka, and shakily got to his feet. "Could I borrow your mouse?"

There were grumbles, but they allowed Sayaka to release Ganko's hand and carefully pick up the Incubator. Kyubey curled against her chest, still shivering. As warm and furry as she remembered, his tail curling around her back. A girl stepped forward, another Doll, but one that was more solid than the others, her pink hair long and flowing, her clothing as black as the rest of the them if far more fine looking. She looked up at Sayaka, her brown eyes warmer than the others that she had seen so far. "The Mistress likely does not want visitors, but you are a friend to the other, yes?"

"I came for both, but Madoka and I do need to talk," Sayaka replied. 

That seemed to be all the answer the Doll needed, because she gave a small curtsy, and she led Sayaka away from the others, up the path. There was definitely a bit of distortion in the air around her, but otherwise she seemed... human. Her voice wasn't at all distorted, it sounded like a much younger Homura. Streetlamps dotted the area, a night sky suddenly stretching above them. It was quiet and cool, and the only sound was their footsteps until it wasn't and she could see two figures at the end of the path.

"-And the lottes did really well, some of them were destroyed in the process, but it doesn't matter, I created more. The only ones that it takes a huge effort to recreate are the Clara Dolls," Homura was saying, her voice soft and slightly slurred. Both of them were facing away from Sayaka, looking out at the city from where they were seated on a wooden bench. Homura's head was resting on Madoka's shoulder, both of her arms hugging the arm attached to said shoulder, still dressed as a magical girl. Then again, she never had reason to switch out of those clothes nowadays. 

"Did one go down and that's why you're so tired?" Madoka asked.

"Reiketsu." Homura yawned. "But she's back so it doesn't matter." She snuggled closer to Madoka before settling down again. "Just like you..."

"Still, it sounds like that was rough. You know I'd be willing to help."

There was a faint whimper from Homura, and her grip on Madoka's arm tightened. "No, no, I can do it myself, don't worry about it, don't contract-"

"Shh, you're getting your timelines mixed up again," Madoka soothed, turning her head to actually look at Homura. "You're okay. I'm right here with you and I'm not leaving. You can feel me next to you."

Homura gave a faint whine, and Madoka winced as the grip on her arm tightened further. "The familiars are replaceable. You're not. I can... I can do it. The void... is less terrifying than the thought of losing you again." Her grip loosened. "Even if I'm not- I'm so tired. I shouldn't be."

"If you're tired then you should get some more sleep. You don't have anywhere you need to be from what you've told me."

"I don... okay..."

The air cleared again, but the night sky remained as Homura's breathing evened out. Sayaka looked around the area, the Doll turned around, leaving her, Kyubey, and the other two girls alone. Sayaka moved forward, and Madoka gave her a small, slightly sad smile. Homura was out again, still clutching Madoka's arm, her expression peaceful. "That didn't sound good," Sayaka muttered.

"No..." Madoka sighed. "But I have to admit it- this rewriting of the world she's done definitely holds more hope for everyone here except Kyubey." She grimaced. "Even with them, though, they have to live with themselves same as the rest of us."

_We were not meant to feel these things_ , Kyubey finally spoke, the trembling growing worse, his normally boyish voice now a feral hiss. Sayaka flinched despite herself as his tail lashed. He sounded... he sounded _angry_. _All of our energy is spent keeping our forms. It's wrong._

"Your goal of fighting entropy is the same, right?"

That was new information to Sayaka. Kyubey gave a faint snarl. _Yes. The witch knows what she's doing. She thinks she can do it all on her own and she rose up yesterday to see if she could save some worlds before it gets even close to what she actually cares about. You're seeing the results now._

"Fighting entropy?" Sayaka asked.

"That's why the wraiths had to exist in place of witches." Madoka gave an awkward, one-shoulder shrug, obviously thinking about other things, one of her eyes a warm gold, the other that pink it had always been. "Magical girls turning into witches gave the incubators enough energy to fight the entropy. The wraiths represented it, so... Homura has actually been fighting it for quite some time."

She did have vague memories of the world Madoka had created, actually... "She has a lot more toys at her disposal now," Sayaka mused. "As well as five more magical girls other than herself that she refuses to use."

Madoka grinned. "You always were extra beautiful when you transformed, Sayaka." Sayaka flushed, letting Kyubey move up onto her bare shoulders. "I... I think we can make this work." She looked down at Homura, sadness coloring her gaze. "She's still a witch and she's not doing well even on her good days, if we're being honest. This is the most approachable she's been all week and it's because she's at her weakest." She pressed her lips together. "I made a big mistake when we first talked in this new timeline."

"Talking to Homura is like walking through a minefield and our memories are all _whack._ " Sayaka shook her head with a soft sigh. "Don't blame yourself for whatever happened. We'll figure this out."

"If we could get more magical girls, that would be ideal..." Madoka gently placed a hand on one of Homura's. "I wonder if some of the other witches would be willing to come back. You still have Octavia, don't you?"

Sayaka nodded. "I think that we'd better talk to Nagisa before Mami or Kyoko. Those two are still confused as all get-out and I doubt that Nagisa isn't still in touch with Charlotte."

_It would take a lot of energy to pull a person into this world with the same sort of power that Sayaka here has,_ Kyubey muttered, settling down on Sayaka's shoulders rather than standing. _But if you humans insist on fighting entropy, you'll need all the help you can get. And she needn't give them what you call "attachments" either. It would make everything easier if she didn't._

Madoka gave a slow, small nod, taking her hand from Homura's to touch the place where her soul gem would be if she was in her magical girl clothing. "Walpurgisnacht is off limits at first for sure..."

"Whomst?" 

Madoka huffed a laugh at the flat response. "I'll speak to the others tonight. Homura has no control over my dreams and I've seen the others every night since coming here since they've been... concerned." Homura stirred, and Madoka gently patted her hand with the tattoo, making her shiver and then settle down again. "Given that I have been split in two, I can't blame them."

"I'm concerned, so yeah, I get it." Sayaka slowly exhaled. "We've got a lot of work to do."

"Yes, but..." Madoka gently curled her hand around Homura's, and their fingers laced with each other automatically. The dark-haired girl actually smiled in her sleep, and Madoka's smile grew gentler. "We're all together this time. I was confused at first and it's going to be hard to get everyone on the same page, but I think we have a fighting chance this time if everyone is willing to cooperate."

Sayaka nodded. "Should I tell your parents that you're coming home late?"

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you, Sayaka, for everything."

Sayaka smiled wryly. "Compared to the sacrifices you and Homura have given, my contribution to helping the world is only a drop in the bucket. I'm honored to help."

Tears were visible in Madoka's eyes when she nodded, and Sayaka hurried off with Kyubey still attached to her shoulders, the Dolls watching them go. Time to figure out the patterns of being a magical girl again, before anything else. Homura had made herself a villain for a reason, giving them all a home even as wacky as it all was, and Madoka had accepted it. Acceptance was the first step.

Sayaka had a life again, and she was going to protect both it and the lives that her friends had been given.


End file.
